Skull Symbolism In Hamlet

In the dark and dreary play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the consistent theme of the purpose of life, self-destruction, and the ambiguous afterlife runs through the entirety of the play with very few fragments of (forcefully) bright and cheerful spots. With the questioning of both life and death present, it is natural and expected to have props within the play that symbolize these two companions, the most prominent one being a skull. Skulls can be seen as a remnant of what was once alive and is now dead, or simply death itself. Although a physical skull doesn’t arrive into the play until the last act, its presence and Hamlet’s deep speculation over the skull’s meaning polishes off the entire theme, and also foreshadows the events to come …show more content…
Although all of these things happen in the play, the speech and the skull are more than an act apart, but tie together perfectly, (which may be the reason behind this common image of Hamlet). This famous speech gives the audience an impeccable view of Hamlet’s feelings towards the woes of living, “To grunt and sweat under a weary life” (3.1.79), and the peacefulness of death, “To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream” (3.1.66-67). Throughout this play, Hamlet questions the purpose of life and what motivates people to continue living. This dark but exceptional speech displays Hamlet’s thoughts of suicide as he states, “When he himself might this quietus make/ With a bare bodkin?” (3.1.77-78). Despite the depth of this soliloquy, the imagined “part two” of this speech arrives later in the play when the familiar prop of the skull makes its way into Hamlet’s …show more content…
As Hamlet witnesses this scene, he begins to have feelings of pity for the skulls and criticizes the gravediggers carelessness. As one skull is thrown after another, Hamlet progresses in length and thought on his comments saying, “That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once” (5.1.70), and “There’s another...Why does he suffer this rude knave now to knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel…” (5.1.92-93). After coming across the skull of “poor Yorick” (5.1.171), Hamlet arrives at the conclusion of, “To what base uses we may return” (5.1.187) and provides a simply stated, but profound example of Alexander the Great. “Alexander died. Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth into dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam, and why of that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer-barrel?” (5.1.192-195). With this statement Hamlet has acknowledged his future and the future of all mankind where our ground up bones “Might stop a hole to keep the wind away”

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